You’re not going to believe this story that I heard about on TV, and later read about in this Washington Post article.  Last Thursday a marathon runner from Virginia was hit by a flying deer while out on a seven-mile run. Another woman was driving her small SUV down the parkway when a deer ran out in front of her. The car hit the deer and sent it flying through the air. Yes, you guessed it, the flying deer hit the runner as she ran on a nearby trail. Both women were treated at a local hospital and released; the deer wasn’t so lucky.  The TV news reporter kept calling the runner a jogger. I think I would have been more ticked by being called a jogger than by getting hit by a flying deer!

FlyingDeerHittingRunner
 

Now that we’re done talking about flying deer, let’s talk about a free-loading fox. Did you hear about the fox that latched onto a runner’s arm and then preceded to refuse to let go as she ran another mile with this dude on her arm? I guess he didn’t want to pay the bus fare.  It happened several years ago in Arizona, and I dug around until I found the specifics in this Finding Dulcinea article. It appears that the lady was running (excuse me, jogging), when a rabid fox attacked her. When she tried to fight it off, it chomped down on her arm even harder. Being a quick thinker, she knew that the fox should be tested for rabies so she ran a mile to her car with the fox dangling from her arm. Once there, she managed to get him in her trunk and then drove herself to the hospital. The fox also bit the animal control officer when he tried to get the rabid beast out of the trunk.  Both “bitees” had to receive rabies post-exposure shots, and recovered. Again, this runner is referred to over and over as a jogger.

FoxBitingRunner
 

Updated on July 10, 2017 to add:

Recently a Maine jogger was attacked just under a mile from her home by a rabid raccoon. One moment she was running through the forest admiring the beautiful scenery and the next moment a raccoon was lunging down the trail toward her. Knowing that it was bound to bite her, she grabbed it around the neck and tried to strangle the little critter that was acting more like the Tasmanian devil than a raccoon. When strangling it didn’t work, she knelt down in a mud puddle with it latched onto her thumb and held its head under the murky water until it finally gasped its last breath. The raccoon tested positive for rabies and the young lady, who underwent a series of rabies and tetanus shots, will be fine.

 

These three articles about joggers getting attacked by animals leads me to a very important question… What’s the difference between a runner and a jogger?

 

Here are my thoughts on runner versus jogger…

Deb’s Definition of  Runner
1. Someone who goes out for a run of any distance,  at any pace, to have fun and enjoy some fresh air, to get fit, and find companionship with other like minded people
2. Someone who occasionally pays a lot of money to get up very early, drive an hour to stand in a long line in the cold waiting to use a porta-potty, and then runs for 30 minutes under crowded conditions with 3,000 other people before driving an hour back home

Deb’s Definition of  Jogger
1. What someone who doesn’t run, calls his friends who do run
2. Someone who runs and still thinks it’s the 1970’s, and will most likely be seen wearing Adidas running sneakers, short-shorts, and a terry cloth headband

 

Here are Merriam-Webster’s definitions…

Merriam-Webster’s Definition of Runner
1. Person who runs as part of a sport, for exercise, or in a race
2. An animal (such as a horse) that runs in a race

Merriam-Webster’s Definition of Jogger
1. To move up and down or about with a short heavy motion
2. To run or ride at a slow trot
3. To go at a slow, leisurely, or monotonous pace; trudge

 

And here’s the Urban Dictionary’s thoughts on the matter…

Urban Dictionary’s Definition of Runner
1. Someone who runs at a decent pace, on all terrain, in all weathers, because they want to. As the runner finished his fartlek, with hands on knees, gasping for breath, his neighbor kindly asked,” did you have a nice jog?”
2. A runner is a person that runs. A runner will run in any kind of condition. Rain, below zero temperatures, hot and stifling humidity. A runner will put on his/her shoes and run, a poser will not run in these conditions. Runners can be seen in many parts of the country or city. A runners faces many hazards including but not limited to, people talking on cell phones, women hauling kids to school, women with kids on board, old folks that have bad vision, dogs, mountain lions, bears, inattentive drivers, lightening, dehydration, frostbite, sore muscles…..

Urban Dictionary’s Definition of Jogger
1. Someone who wishes they could run like a competitive runner, but cannot so they wear all sorts of running gear for no reason.
2. One of the worst things to call a runner. Runners and joggers are and never will be the same, to call them the same is to show much ignorance

 

So here’s what I learned from this very important little exercise:  My hair has never, will never, and can never look as good as Farrah Fawcett’s when I run!

 

  • Questions:
  • Did you hear about the flying deer or the rabid fox?
  • What other crazy things should runners look out for?
  • Which do you say running or jogging? If you’re a runner, do you get annoyed by being called a jogger?